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"The Need for Speed" (Full title: Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed) is a racing video game, developed by Electronic Arts Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It has been released in 1994 for the 3DO and for MS-DOS, in 1995 for Microsoft Windows and in 1996 for Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn. In Japan it was released as "Over Drivin" this was also the first Need for Speed title in Japan to be released under that name up until Need for Speed: High Stakes and starting with Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed it was released under its Western name. It is the first game in the Need for Speed series. The premise of the game involves racing in sport cars, including several exotic models, American Muscle Cars, and Japanese imports. The game noted for its attempts in realism, and audio and video commentaries. Electronic Arts teamed up with automotive magazine Road & Track to match vehicle behavior. Gameplay The gameplay of The Need for Speed is realistic, unlike other NFS games(except Porsche Unleashed). Road and Track magazine has provided EA with real data about the in game cars, but not only their attributes(acceleration, top speed, etc.), but also their personality. For example, some cars have weaker handling on the back than they do on the front. Each car also has a different engine sound. Even though the game tends to be realistic, it is simple to play and player do not need much training to start playing. There are two different types of races in the game: closed circuit races and open road races, the latter include police and oncoming traffic. The cars however, cannot go of the road making a car crash into an invisible barrier. This also prevents shortcuts in races. Racers can get arrested by police on open road tracks. If a racer gets caught, he gets a ticket. When a racer gets three tickets(two tickets in the Sega Saturn version), he is arrested. Tracks *Closed circuits **Rusty Springs **Autumn Valley **Vertigo *Open (road) circuits **City **Coastal **Alpine *Bonus tracks **Lost Vegas **Oasis Springs **Autumn Rally **Vertigo Rally **City Rally **Coastal Rally **Alpine Rally **Lost Rally **Lunar Springs Lost Vegas track is unlocked by entering a secret code. Lost Vegas is a more arcade oriented track than others. The rally tracks are unlocked by entering the same code as for the Lost Vegas track and holding certain buttons at the track selection screen. Rally tracks have a layer of dirt on the road so the cars handle differently. Oasis Springs track is also placed in the desert. Lunar Springs track is unlocked by entering a second secret code an holding certain buttons on the track selection screen while Rusty Springs is selected. Lunar Springs track has a completely arcade-low gravity car handling. Cars Cars included in The Need for Speed are divided into three classes, each representing model within specific performance brackets, such as speed and handling. Cars featured in the game include the following: *Class A **Lamborghini Diablo VT **Ferrari 512TR *Class B **Chevrolet Corvette **Dodge Viper RT/10 **Porsche 911 Carrera (993) *Class C **Acura NSX **Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) **Toyota Supra The Need for Speed also features a fictional bonus car named the "Warrior PTO E/2." The car possesses unrealistically high speed and acceleration, sensitive handling, and also produces an unusual horn sound. The Need For Speed: Special Edition Released in 1996, a little known edition of The Need for Speed, Special Edition, is sometimes considered as the lost episode of Need for Speed, though it wasn't significantly different from the 1995 PC release. Available only on PC CD-ROM, it contained both a DOS and Windows 95 versions. The Windows 95 version supported DirectX 2 and TCP/IP networking, included 2 bonus tracks and various enhancements in the game engine. This was the only game in the series to support DOS as subsequent releases for the PC only run on Microsoft Windows 95 or above. Over Drivin': Skyline Memorial Released exclusively in Japan in 1997 for the Playstation, This version of The Need for Speed featured only Nissan Skylines from the original, up through the R-33. One of the cars the 1969-1972 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R would later be featured in Need for Speed: Shift. Category:Need for Speed Series